Spy School

78 pages • 2 hours read

Spy School

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2012

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

CHAPTERS 1-5

Reading Check

1. How many times has Ben visited the CIA website?

2. What does Chip Schacter try to coerce Ben into doing?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the SACSA, and why does Ben earn a D-?

2. Wh is Erica Hale, and how does Ben feel about her?

3. How does Murray approach spy school?

CHAPTERS 6-10

Reading Check

1. What does the assassin ask Ben about?

2. Who visits Ben in the Box?

3. What is Ben’s first class at his new school?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Ben escape the assassin?

2. What does the crime scene investigator reveal?

3. What leads to ninjas attacking Ben?

Paired Resource

“Spy Agency Utilizes Autistic Analysts’ Unique Skills”

This resource includes a brief video and article from CBS discussing an agent’s heightened ability to use data and find patterns.
This article connects to the theme of Individuality as a Strength.
How can unique talents and abilities be beneficial for intelligence agencies, as well as other professions? When has Ben been underestimated, only to prove he has impressive abilities?

CHAPTERS 11-15

Reading Check

1. Where does Ben wake up after being knocked unconscious by the ninja?

2. Whom does Ben team up with during the war game?

3. What does Ben find in the tunnel when he follows Chip and Hauser?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Ben feel about his qualifications for the spy school?

2. Why does Ben insult the principal?

Paired Resource

“Moving Mountains”

This TIME for Kids article, with written and audio options, presents six young inventors who solved difficult problems and explores the reasoning behind their creations.
The article connects to the theme of Perseverance.
In what ways do personal interests motivate people to act and create? What obstacles has Dan overcome, and why does he persevere?

CHAPTERS 16-20

Reading Check

1. What does the note that Ben finds in his pocket say?

2. Who is the intruder Ben spots from the command center at 7:30?

3. What is written on the Post-It note Erica finds on Ben?

4. Where does Ben last see Erica after they escape from Crandall’s apartment?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How do Erica and Ben hack the mainframe?

2. Why does Erica put Ben in even more danger?

3. After Erica rescues Ben from kidnappers, what does he learn about Crandall?

Paired Resource

“Hunch”

Jay Parini’s poem explores how the speaker reacts to intuition.
Theme connections include Perseverance and Individuality as a Strength.
How does the poet convey what a hunch feels like? Where do Erica and Ben follow their hunches like the speaker in the poem?

“Fact Check”

This TIME for Kids article discusses the importance of analyzing sources and thinking critically about the information we receive from them.
This article connects to the theme of Appearances Versus Reality.
Why is news literacy so important? Which character seems best at recognizing the truth behind appearances?

CHAPTERS 21-25

Reading Check

1. Who does Erica think is the mole?

2. What does Ben infer about Murray?

3. Who takes credit for apprehending the mole?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Murray want Ben to do, and how does he try to convince him?

2. Why does Ben tell Erica to ask the rest of the students for help?

3. How does Erica treat Ben after he is injured?

4. What can the reader infer about the official letter at the end of the book?

Recommended Next Reads

Spy Camp by Stuart Gibbs

In the sequel to Spy School, Ben, Erica, and their peers attend spy camp and fight back as SPYDER comes after Ben.
Shared themes include Appearances Versus Reality, Perseverance, and Individuality as a Strength.
Shared topics include family, friends, danger, espionage, loyalties, growing up, and learning.
Spy Camp on SuperSummary

Jada Sly, Artist & Spy by Sherri Winston

After moving back to New York, Jada, a young spy-in-training, begins a very personal mission: to find her mom, who she believes is another spy.
Shared themes include Appearances Versus Reality, Perseverance, and Individuality as a Strength.
Shared topics include the spy world, growing up, family, friends, confidence, and home.

Reading Questions Answer Key

CHAPTERS 1-5

Reading Check

1. 728 (Chapter 1)

2. Hacking into the school computers to get classified information (Chapter 4)

Short Answer

1. SACSA stands for Survival and Combat Skills Assessment. Ben’s first assessment was the attack on the school when he first got there. He earned a D- because he begged for mercy but got some points for dropping a book on an attacker’s head. (Chapters 2-3)

2. Erica Hale is the spy Ben meets when he first arrives at the school; she is also the daughter of the man who recruits Ben. Ben thinks she is beautiful and impressive. (Chapters 2-5)

3. Murray does poorly in spy school on purpose so he can eventually get a desk job instead of a dangerous job in the field. (Chapter 5)

CHAPTERS 6-10

Reading Check

1. Pinwheel (Chapter 6)

2. Erica (Chapter 8)

3. Introduction to Self-Preservation (Chapter 10)

Short Answer

1. Ben makes up what sounds like cryptography statements about Pinwheel, and then he hits the assassin with a tennis racket. (Chapter 6)

2. The crime scene investigator reveals that the cameras on the exact route to Ben’s room were dismantled. This gives someone a way to get to him without being seen, proving he was targeted. (Chapter 7)

3. Ben talks through Professor Crandall’s class, so the professor gives him a “pop quiz,” which is three ninjas attacking Ben. (Chapter 10)

CHAPTERS 11-15

Reading Check

1. In Alexander Hale’s secret apartment on campus (Chapter 11)

2. Zoe and Warren (Chapter 12)

3. A bomb (Chapter 13)

Short Answer

1. Ben feels unqualified now that he knows he is being used as bait. When he compares himself to the other students and sees their high abilities, he is reminded that he does not have the same skills. Determined to prove he can be a spy, he continues to trust his instincts and work hard. (Chapters 11-15)

2. After Ben gets sent to the principal’s office for fighting with Chip, Erica tells Ben to trust her and insult the principal. He does, so the principal puts him on probation and sends him back to the Box. Erica seemingly planned this to keep him safe and so they could meet in secret. Later, she reveals that she also had Ben insult the principal so Ben could see where he hid his passcode when he sent the probation email. (Chapter 14-16)

CHAPTERS 16-20

Reading Check

1. “Meet me in the librery [sic] tonight. Midnight. Your life depends on it.” (Chapter 17)

2. Mike (Chapter 18)

3. 70,200 (Chapter 19)

4. Running into the woods with armed people chasing her (Chapter 20)

Short Answer

1. The principal cannot remember the passcode each day, so he writes it down. After she breaks Ben out of the Box, she asks him where the principal looked before he sent the probation email earlier. Ben does not remember until Erica offers to hug him. Then, he remembers the principal grabbing a dictionary right before he logged into his computer. They find the code and log in. (Chapter 16)

2. Erica sends an email saying Ben is the Jackhammer to lure out and reveal their enemies. While this does put Ben in more danger, she also gets him better security. (Chapter 16)

3. Crandall pretends to overlook things so people drop their guard. This allows him to learn important information and makes his enemies “underestimate” him. (Chapters 19-20)

CHAPTERS 21-25

Reading Check

1. Tina (Chapter 21)

2. Murray stole Ben’s phone to text Mike. (Chapter 23)

3. Alexander Hale (Chapter 25)

Short Answer

1. Murray wants him to work for SPYDER, which is the nefarious spy network that Murray works for. He tells Ben he will make a lot more money working for SPYDER than he would for the CIA, and then he threatens him. (Chapter 23)

2. They need to find Murray. Ben suggests they ask the other students for help because it gives them a better chance to find him on the large campus. More students can search more areas. (Chapter 25)

3. Erica checks on Ben’s injury to make sure he is okay. She also compliments his spy skills and smiles at him, which is an unusual move for her. (Chapter 25)

4. Because so much of the letter is redacted, the reader can infer it is highly classified. The letter suggests that Ben should be officially enrolled at the school, showing that the person who wrote it recognizes his skills. The letter mentions that Ben would be upset if he learned about some of the redacted information, implying that Ben or those he cares about might still be in danger. (Chapter 25)